Chapter 1 - New frontiers for heterogeneous catalysis: surface modification of nanomaterials Author links open overlay panel

Traditionally,"catalysts” can be defined as a species capable of altering the rate of the reaction without being converted
during the process.1 The concept of catalysis was first introduced by Swedish chemist J.J. Benzelius in his annual
report in 1836 in which he proposed the presence of a
“catalytic force” to act on substrates to bring out homogeneous
or heterogeneous transformations in the presence of a chemical entity, the characteristics and properties of which remain
intact after the transformation.2 Since then, the field of catalysis has witnessed a very sharp growth and catalysis has
now became an integral part of research in both academia and industries.3 , 4 While the conventional chemical
transformations utilizing metal-based catalytic systems have dominated the research efforts.1 , 5 the non-metal-based
catalytic systems have also gained significant interest in recent times.